Lawson named USA women's basketball coach

""To win a gold medal as a player was amazing, and one of the earliest goals that I set out when I was young," Lawson told ESPN. "I think that is what drives you because you know how great that feels and you want the players you coach to experience that. You get to have this permanent memory in your sport and so the goal is to try to help them create that for themselves at the different world events.""

""The international game has never been more competitive on the women's side," Lawson said. "And I think the roster for the U.S. women has always been the most competitive roster to make. I would argue in any sport, it's the hardest roster to make. But this might be the hardest of the hardest roster to make. Because there's so many good veterans that have won a lot for our country. And there's an amazing group of young players that are already competing at this level.""

Kara Lawson has been named head coach of the United States women's basketball team and will lead the program at all major competitions through the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Lawson served as an assistant coach on the 2024 gold-medal team and won Olympic gold as a player in 2008. She succeeds Cheryl Reeve, who guided the U.S. to its eighth consecutive Olympic gold in Paris in 2024. The United States has recorded 60 consecutive Olympic game wins while international women's basketball has grown more competitive. Lawson aims to help players create lasting memories and acknowledges the roster is extremely difficult to make.

Read at ESPN.com